The CBC has betrayed its mandate to inform Canadians of events in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories with fairness, independence and integrity.

The CBC’s directive not to use the word “Palestine,” its use of pro-Israel voices, and its decision not to report state and settler violence directly bolsters the State of Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse the indigenous Palestinian population. The CBC has therefore breached its obligations under the Canadian Broadcasters’ Codes of Ethics which note that “an informed public is vital to a democratic society.”

The situation facing Palestinians is not more complicated than that of the colonization of indigenous people in North America, or the discrimination against the Black majority under South Africa’s apartheid regime. Israel’s 54-year Israeli military occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is the longest occupation in history.

Trudeau’s Liberals are complicit in the criminal treatment of Palestinians due to its unconditional political, financial, and military support to Israel. A key aspect of this support is the Canadian media’s -- particularly the CBC’s -- fraudulent portrayal of the situation that includes:

• Censoring Israel’s illegal blockade of two million human beings in occupied Gaza, including humanitarian aid such as medicine, food, fuel, building materials, and textbooks
• Omitting the legal adjective “occupied” when referring to the Palestinian territories
• Censoring Israel’s constant attacks on all Palestinians, including settler terrorism and the massacre of protestors where 250 have been killed and another 30,000 injured
• Portraying unarmed Palestinians as aggressors in a “conflict” on par with a world class military power
• Censoring the publication of important human rights reports, most recently those of B'Tselem and Human Rights Watch which concluded that Israel was committing the crime of “apartheid” in Palestine.

The publicly-funded CBC has an obligation to present the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories without bias, half-truths and omissions. Canadian democracy relies on the honesty of our media: the CBC must stop enabling Canadian support for Israel’s violations of international law.